Page:History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North.djvu/192

174 sense that he carried the genealogical tree of the Danish kings up to Adam, always giving the length of their reigns, and this moreover with perfect faith in the correctness of the dates which he pretends to have copied from "old documents." He was inspired with deep interest in his own native tongue, and in it he made some efforts not wholly unsuccessful as a poet, and thus he may justly be numbered among the truly national authors of the age of learning. Among the historians we must also mention. (1599-1650), chiefly on account of his edition of Svend Aagesön's and Saxo's works, the latter of which he enriched with a wealth of learned notes.

Toward the close of the sixteenth century there was awakened a hitherto unknown interest in the. It was probably owing to the circumstance that men had begun at this time to devote themselves extensively, to the study of history, and so the taste for this kind of inquiry was cultivated. In this connection scholars were naturally led to the study of Old Norse language and literature, and this again had a beneficial influence on the Danish, which, up to this time, had been kept a stranger to literature. Vedel had already in his time, both through his historical studies and through his love of Danish, been induced to study the Old Norse tongue, and for this purpose he projected various plans. He also began antiquarian studies in reference to an introduction for the great history of Denmark which he was preparing, made copies of runic alphabets, etc. Still, all this was merely the feeble beginning of a genuine antiquarian study. The first man who achieved something worthy of note in this respect was the above named physician and naturalist, (1588-1654). He made a number of collections, among which were to be found many archæological